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Minnesota sheriff's office receives life-saving surprise

Capt. Keith Hoppe shows the AEDs that the Chisago County Sheriff's Office was able to purchase thanks to an anonymous $10,000 donation in May 2018.Courtesy of Chisago County Sheriff's Office

The Chisago County Sheriff's Office has received a $10,000 surprise — a surprise that may save lives in the county.

According to a Facebook post on Saturday, an anonymous donor gave the sheriff's office $10,000 to finish equipping all of its squad cars with automated external defibrillators, or AEDs.

An AED is a portable device that checks heart rhythm, and can send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm. They can cost as much as $2,000 each.

The sheriff's office in the county north of the Twin Cities said the donor had read a news article that reported a Chisago County deputy had used an AED to save a life. In the article, sheriff's Capt. Keith Hoppe had said he "wished all our squads had them."

According to the February article in the Post Review, the Chisago County Sheriff's Office has saved several lives using AEDs in the past five years, but the department only had 17 AEDs for its 24 patrol cars. The donation closes that gap.

On Facebook this weekend, the Chisago County Sheriff's Office wrote, "Our Sheriff's Office is extremely grateful for this donation and the selflessness displayed by the donor to give back to the community!"